Upon her father’s early passing, Elisabetta Foradori took the reins of her family’s winery at age 20. Her vocation was sprung upon her out of a sense of duty to her family, and not self-motivation. Perhaps this atypical start to her winemaking journey is what spurred a life-long sense of experimentation. From barriques to amphorae, organics to biodyanamics and everything in between, Foradori seems to have tried it all, and all in the name of promoting her region’s autochthonous grape variety, teroldego.

Teroldego speaks to its region’s history before the birth of the nation of Italy. In contrast with what we think of as typically Italian, teroldego’s subtle tone is more in sync with its alpine brethren to the north in Austria. This is partly due to the cooler Dolomitic climate, and partly due to teroldego’s place in the family of grapes descending from mondeuse in Savoie and syrah in the Rhone valley. The evolution of Foradori’s wines over the course of Elisabetta’s tenure reflects the shift from making wines in an international style to doing as little as possible to mask the inherent nature of teroldego.

All month, we will celebrate the wines of Elisabetta Foradori, including three wines made of teroldego, a white made from manzoni bianco (pinot blanc x riesling cross), and the early results from Ampeleia, a new Tuscan project she started with a couple of friends.